WASHINGTON — Just as Vice President Pence was at the Capitol giving a pep talk to GOP senators about the need to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, a bipartisan group of governors asked Senate leaders not to consider it.

Among the list of governors was Alaska’s Bill Walker, an independent, who had been lobbied by the Trump administration to support the bill because Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski is undecided and is a critical vote to get the legislation through.

“As you continue to consider changes to the American health care system, we ask you not to consider the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson amendment and renew support for bipartisan efforts to make health care more available and affordable for all Americans,” the 10 governors urged in a letter addressed to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Schumer and the entire Democratic caucus are against any efforts to repeal President Obama’s signature health care law.

However, McConnell is supportive of the effort by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to get legislation passed before an end-of-September deadline.

Governor Brian Sandoval issued this statement.

“I know that Senator Heller is working in the best interest of the state and I appreciate the intended flexibility created in the Graham-Cassidy-Heller amendment which would distribute healthcare funding via block grants. State experts will continue to work with our federal partners, specifically with Senator Heller’s office, on ideas to improve Nevada’s healthcare market. I continue to believe the framework authored by bipartisan Governors is the best path to improve our healthcare system but will continue to work with Senator Heller on healthcare solutions for the state of Nevada.”

In a statement sent Tuesday afternoon, Heller defended the proposed bill:

"Our plan moves decision-making to the states and provides each state the flexibility needed to innovate, develop, and implement new options to bring down costs and increase coverage. Our plan also allows states to maintain programs that are currently working for them, protects individuals with pre-existing conditions, and eliminates the individual mandate penalty because people who can’t afford a product their government forces them to buy should not have to pay a fine.

Republicans have been trying to repeal Obamacare under special procedures that would allow them to pass a bill with 50 votes instead of the normal 60-vote threshold that is required to prevent a filibuster. There are 52 Republicans in the Senate, so they can lose only two votes before the bill dies.

If passed, the bill would leave most Obamacare taxes in place but give the money to states in the form of block grants to decide what health care system to use. It would also end the Obamacare expansion of Medicaid eligibility in 2020 and replace it with per capita block grants to states to address the needs of low-income residents.

In addition to Walker, the governors of both Louisiana and Nevada — represented by Cassidy and Heller — signed the letter asking for a bipartisan solution. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is a Republican, while Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is a Democrat.

GOP leaders believe they are close to getting the 50 senators needed to pass the legislation. A previous effort to repeal Obamacare failed in July by one vote.

The three senators who voted against the repeal bill in July — Murkowski and Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine — remain undecided about the current draft. Conservative Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has come out against it outright because he does not believe it goes far enough to repeal the Obamacare taxes and mandates.

Meanwhile, a Senate committee led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has been holding hearings in search of a bipartisan deal on stabilizing the individual health insurance market in the short term.

But Pence told reporters that the White House and congressional leaders will not accept legislation to shore up the Affordable Care Act.

"I'm going to make it clear that the House will not support efforts to fix or prop up Obamacare. The speaker made that clear today, as he also expressed his support (for Graham-Cassidy)," Pence said. "And I'm going to make the case: This is the moment, now is the time. We have 12 days."